1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to a collarless dog harness which is connected to a leash held by an individual walking the dog, and more particularly, to a controllable dog harness and leash assembly adapted to inhibit the dog from straining against the leash and inducing the dog to come to a halt or to walk at a pace acceptable to the leash holder.
2. Status of Prior Art
A leash is a chain or strap attached to the collar or harness of a dog, the leash being used to lead the dog or to hold it in check.
As pointed out in the Bloom U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,397, when a dog strains against a leash attached to a dog harness, it is important that the harness then avoid a choking effect on the throat of the dog, or undue pressure on throat muscles, cords and nerves, for these may have adverse effects on the lungs and heart of the dog. While Bloom discloses a non-choking harness, this harness does not act to discourage the dog from straining against the leash. Indeed, because the harness is non-choking, there is nothing to inhibit such straining and to hold the dog in check.
The need exists, therefore, for a harness to break older dogs of the habit of straining at the leash and for training younger dogs not to strain at the leash. A dog when straining at the leash, may in doing so wrest the leash from the hands of its master who then loses control. But this is a less objectionable aspect of straining, for in the case of a master of advanced years or in a relatively weakened condition, should the master hold tightly onto the strained leash to maintain control of the dog, the master may then be pulled to the ground or otherwise upset, with possibly damaging consequences.
My prior Sporn U.S. Pat. No. 4,964,369, discloses a dog harness acting to inhibit the dog from straining against the leash without, however, producing a choking action. The harness comprises a collar encircling the neck of the dog, and left and right restraint cables whose leading ends are connected to the front section of the collar. The restraint cables go loosely under the left and right foreleg pits of the dog and through respective slip rings attached to the rear section of the collar, the trailing ends of the cables terminating in a coupler to which the leash is attached.
When the harnessed dog strains at the leash, this acts to tighten the restraint cables which then impose a pressure on the foreleg pits. Because these pits are highly sensitive, in order to relieve this pressure the dog will then cease to strain against the leash and thereby again loosen the restraint cable. A harness of the type disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. '369 is effective for its intended purpose, but it requires a collar whose size is appropriate to the neck size of the dog on which it is installed.
My prior Sporn U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,359,964, 5,329,885 and 5,676,093 all disclose a collarless, leash-controllable dog harness adapted to inhibit a dog from straining against the leash held by an individual walking the dog, the harness inducing the dog to come to a halt or to walk at a pace acceptable to the leash holder.
In this collarless harness, the straps and cables which form the harness run between a shoulder junction overlying the shoulder of the dog and a chest junction lying adjacent the chest. When this harness is installed on a dog, one harness strap passes through the right foreleg crotch, the other strap passing through the left foreleg crotch. Should the harnessed dog strain against the leash, this causes both straps to ride up the respective crotches to impose pressure on the highly-sensitive foreleg pits. In order to relieve the resultant discomfort, the dog then slows down or comes to a halt to relax the strain.
The collarless harnesses disclosed in my U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,359,964, 6,329,885 and 5,673,093 have distinct advantages over the harness disclosed in my prior U.S. Pat. No. '369, for it does not entail a collar. But in both instances, control of the dog is effected by applying pressure to the highly-sensitive foreleg pits to induce the dog to relax the strain on the leash.
However collarless harnesses disclosed in my prior patents are somewhat complex structurally for they include fabric straps, metal junction-plates, releasable buckles, tri-slides and other components which are required to accommodate the harness to the geometry of the dog on which the harness is to be installed.
Hence these prior collarless harnesses, though highly effective in controlling a dog, are relatively costly to manufacture. Moreover, these harnesses call for some degree of skill to install properly, a skill that may be lacking in some dog owners.
Of prior art interest is the Everson U.S. Pat. No. 2,187,021 in which a dog harness is composed of a neck collar loop whose lines extend through the foreleg crotches of the dog to join a body loop to which a leash is coupled, the leash when strained acting to tighten the collar loop about the neck of the dog and force down the head of the dog. Also of prior art interest is the U.S. Pat. No. 5,682,840 to McFarland in which a restraining device for a dog formed by a pair of cords of equal length form loops to apply pressure to the foreleg pits of the dog.